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By Amitai Etzioni Italy’s defense minister has just announced that the country will provide armed Marines to Italian ships that travel in pirate-infested waters. Other ships have retained private security guards. Many nations, though, still try to deal with pirates by using water hoses, surrounding the deck with barbed wire, and providing safe rooms in which […]

WASHINGTON — The US Navy views the Asia-Pacific region as a top strategic priority even as it faces possible budget cuts that could curtail other global missions, the naval chief said Wednesday. With China’s clout rising and its military might expanding, President Barack Obama’s deputies and military commanders increasingly portray Asia as a key to […]

WASHINGTON – The US Navy will place a top priority on deploying ships in the Asia-Pacific region even as it faces possible budget cuts that could curtail other global missions, the naval chief said Wednesday. With China’s clout rising and its military reach expanding, President Barack Obama’s deputies and military commanders increasingly portray Asia as […]

A. Gaffar Peang-Meth Written by A. Gaffar Peang-Meth FILED UNDER Opinion Columnists – Opinion South Korea Coast Guard ADS BY PULSE 360 AdChoices The possibility of bountiful oil fields in the Spratly Islands, sprinkled across more than 496,000 square miles of the South China Sea, has led to numerous disputes related to control of […]

BEIJING – China and Vietnam pledged to ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea, and keep calm and restrained rather than take any action that will complicate and expand disputes, according to a joint statement issued on Saturday as Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong concluded his China visit. The […]

China and Vietnam pledged to ensure peace and stability in the South China Sea, and keep calm and restrained rather than take any action that will complicate and expand disputes, according to a joint statement issued on Saturday as Communist Party of Vietnam General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong concluded his China visit. The two countries […]

SHANGHAI (Reuters) – China and Vietnam have agreed to strengthen military cooperation, increase contacts between high-ranking officers and establish a hotline for the two defense ministries, in a bid to cool tensions between the Communist-ruled neighbors. The two countries, which have a history of distrust, also agreed to launch a pilot project of joint patrols along […]

Wednesday, Oct. 12, 2011 HONOLULU — China and the United States are at strategic odds in the South China Sea. The U.S. is striving to maintain — and if necessary — demonstrate its dominance while China is expanding its might and reach. Respective nuclear warfare strategies may even play a role with China basing and […]

By PHILIP BOWRING If Washington is worried about Beijing’s claims in the South China Sea, it can’t abandon Taipei’s defense. A glaring disconnect is emerging between America’s policy toward Taiwan and its efforts to strengthen military ties with Southeast Asian countries that dispute China’s claims to the South China Sea. One might imagine that Taiwan was […]